‘It needs to start with the kids ... you need to feed their minds’

The Bright Sparks team follows the green schools programme used at primary level.

Principal Clare Devaney says the programme is great, but should be made even more basic for pre-school children.

“I suppose a new one that would be adapted just for pre-school would be excellent,” she says.

Olga Fitzgerald is one of three pre-school teachers, as well as the green schools co-ordinator.

“We’ve been running it off our own bat really. It’s hard to keep the continuity going, because there’s a two-year programme leading up to each flag. So the groups are changing and the kids who start it off are gone on to primary school when the flag goes up.”

She started at the centre when it opened eight years ago, having worked in New Zealand for a few years.

“Any interest, it needs to start with the kids, and once they get involved it’s passed on at home and then it sticks with them — or that’s the plan anyway — and they keep it going right through life.

“It was something important to me but, I suppose, working with children you need to give them as much as they can, just feed their minds as much as possible.”

Heritage body An Taisce is working on a green schools scheme designed specifically for similar settings, and ran a pilot programme in Westmeath with 14 centres and the Westmeath County Childcare Committee.

“The pilot is aimed at developing specific methodology for the programme at pre-school level and the pre-schools have found that green schools links very well with the Aistear early childhood care and education programme,” said An Taisce’s green schools manager, Cathy Baxter.

The 14 successful pre-schools from the Westmeath area received their green flags at the end of May.